Death tolls were horrifically large in Pakistan as local authorities reported that around 52,000 people died in Pakistan and approximately 2,000 were killed by this catastrophe in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir. Local authorities reported the official death toll as around 52,000 in . The worst damaged done has been in the more mountainous areas of the area concerned as dangers such as landslides have been wiping out homes and shelter (also blocking roads). Last week it was reported that 3,300,000 people fled from their homes as the earthquake hit, but now they are left homeless as the earthquake had shattered their homes. The UN say that more than 4,000,000 people were affected by this monster. Disease has already started to spread rapidly and many have died already. Many of them are at risk of dying from the spread of disease. It was the strongest earthquake there, for 70 years.
The earthquake has also unsettled the disputes among this region. The area has already been fought over for many years by the Pakistanis and the Indians. However, after the event, the disputes have erupted into chaos in both political and geologic areas.
Kashmir lies right in the shadow of the Himalayas, probably the most dangerous mountain range in the world. It stretches across 1,500 miles from China to Pakistan and is the world’s youngest mountain range and is by far the most dynamic. They were formed not to long ago when India broke away from Pangaea and moved across the ocean until it collided with Eurasia on the other side of the world and began to press itself North, and under the extreme pressures the Himalayas were formed. As India is ever pressing North at a rate of 1.6 inches a year, earthquakes and landslides are frequent in the area.
However the dangers haven’t seemed to cease the ever-growing population of the area. Most of them in the Kashmir region are Muslims who live in the town of Muzaffarabad, and a small percentage of the population are Hindus, who claim the rights for the ancient region of Kashmir.
India, though they claim the rights of the ownership of the area have offered little sympathy or help to the damages done.
The region of Kashmir still remains extremely tectonically active however people still refuse to leave. With such a great population and such frequent disasters, many more catastrophes should be foreseen in the future of the area.
